Gabby Douglas of Virginia Beach, Va./Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute, earned the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena with a 62.232, becoming the fourth USA Olympic all-around champion in history (Mary Lou Retton 1984, Carly Patterson 2004, Nastia Liukin 2008). U.S. women have won the all-around title at the last three Olympics (Patterson ’04, Liukin ’08, Douglas ’12). Russia’s Viktoria Komova and Aliya Mustafina earned silver and bronze with respective scores of 61.973 and 59.566.
“I definitely had this amazing feeling,” said Douglas. “I just told myself, ‘Believe. Don’t fear, just believe.’ I didn’t really think about making mistakes. I just wanted to represent everyone, not just myself—Team USA, coaches, family. I wanted to show my best routines and just enjoy the moment.”
“She is a very graceful gymnast and also she has the strength and determination,” said Douglas’ head coach, Liang Chow. “I am totally beside myself. I think it was a wonderful night and for me as a coach, that was a wonderful dream come true—to have an Olympic Champion.”
Douglas is the second U.S. woman to win multiple gold medals at an Olympics since Shannon Miller (1996). Douglas competes in the finals for uneven bars on Aug. 6 and balance beam on Aug. 7.
Aly Raisman of Needham, Mass./Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, finished in a tie for third with Mustafina with a 59.566, but due to the tie-breaking procedures, finished fourth in the all-around. With the tied score, FIG rules dictate that each competitor’s three highest scores count, with Mustafina edging the 2012 U.S. balance beam and floor exercise champion.
